CALHOUN COUNTY, SC (WIS) – When you meet Samson, the first thing you notice is what a sweet cutie he is.
“He’s such a sweet boy,” said Calhoun County Animal Control Officer Cheryl Price.
But when he hears your voice and comes to you, you notice Samson has no eyes.
He was found on a busy Calhoun County road two weeks ago, not far from the county animal shelter. But Saturday, Samson’s life journey takes him hundreds of miles away from where this story started.
“They showed so much interest in him and the donations have come in from that area, the Northeast and they wanted him very badly and they jumped through hoops to make this happen and we’re glad for it,” said Calhoun County Animal Control Officer Harley Caudill.
Saturday Samson will be taken to the Orangeburg Airport, where he will board a plane and Pilots N Paws will take him to Maryland, where Eskie Rescuers United American Eskimo Dog Rescue, Inc. will give him the ophthalmologic veterinary care he needs. Once Samson is treated, Eskie Rescuers arranged for a foster family in New Jersey who has a blind dog to care for him until he is adopted.
What started as a Facebook post to try to locate Samson’s owner turned into an outpouring of help that reached as far away as Fairport, New York.
“It just went viral and made so many new contacts, which we desperately needed,” Price said. “It’s just been fantastic — overwhelming with the response that we’ve gotten from him.”
Being a small shelter with limited space, the Calhoun County Animal Shelter will take any help it gets.
“We were fortunate — very fortunate — to find a rescue for him and people wanting to help,” Price said. “But he’s not the only one. We’ve got a kennel full right now that need help.”
The Friends of the Calhoun County Animal Shelter does what it can to help. Donations and offers to be doggie foster parents are gratefully accepted.
“It has opened up this network of people who want to help the dogs nationwide,” said FOCCAS co-founder Lissa Peterkin. “There have been people in California who have been interested in him…It’s got to be God’s work.”